5 ms·

London's developers are hell-bent on snapping up the best bits of the city for the wealthiest clients, and the government doesn't seem very motivated to protect

London's developers are hell-bent on snapping up the best bits of the city for the wealthiest clients, and the government doesn't seem very motivated to protect them for public enjoyment. It's pretty frustrating as a citizen feeling that no one's got your back - the rich and the powerful work hand in hand for their benefit and everyone else is left with the scraps - little bits of fenced of public space as a charity gesture for the people who made the foolish choice of not being filthy rich.

nly 12y ago
While I get how it must be tricky for Londoners to escape the chaos for a few hours, the UK is a tiny island and you're never more than a short train ride away from countryside.
- DrJokepu 12y ago
  Great Britain is the 9th largest island by area in the world[0]. It's not tiny by any measure. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area
  - mobiuscog 12y ago
    but you're also never more than 72 miles away from the coast.
    - DrJokepu 12y ago
      Well, yes, but that would be also true for an island with the shape of a rectangle that is 144 miles wide and 10000 miles long.
  - mst 12y ago
    The difference between England and America is that in England 200 miles is a long way, and in America 200 years is a long time.
- lmm 12y ago
  Depends how you're defining "countryside". If you want to go to a large unmanaged forest, tough, there aren't any (e.g. Epping Forest is nice but it's too narrow to get lost in). If you want to go up a mountain that feels like an actual mountain, you've got to go over the border into Wales or Scotland. In all these cases you'll rarely be far from a village.
- mangecoeur 12y ago
  That doesn't address the political and social issue though: who is a the city for? Who should have access to public space? I believe that in a crowded city it's really important that things like parks and riverbanks are accessible to everyone. Otherwise you slowly create a city of gated communities, a two-tier society. Saying "you could go somewhere else" is basically admitting that the city is becoming unlivable to the common man.

nly 12y ago

While I get how it must be tricky for Londoners to escape the chaos for a few hours, the UK is a tiny island and you're never more than a short train ride away from countryside.

DrJokepu 12y ago
Great Britain is the 9th largest island by area in the world[0]. It's not tiny by any measure. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_area
- mobiuscog 12y ago
  but you're also never more than 72 miles away from the coast.
  - DrJokepu 12y ago
    Well, yes, but that would be also true for an island with the shape of a rectangle that is 144 miles wide and 10000 miles long.
- mst 12y ago
  The difference between England and America is that in England 200 miles is a long way, and in America 200 years is a long time.
lmm 12y ago
Depends how you're defining "countryside". If you want to go to a large unmanaged forest, tough, there aren't any (e.g. Epping Forest is nice but it's too narrow to get lost in). If you want to go up a mountain that feels like an actual mountain, you've got to go over the border into Wales or Scotland. In all these cases you'll rarely be far from a village.
mangecoeur 12y ago
That doesn't address the political and social issue though: who is a the city for? Who should have access to public space? I believe that in a crowded city it's really important that things like parks and riverbanks are accessible to everyone. Otherwise you slowly create a city of gated communities, a two-tier society. Saying "you could go somewhere else" is basically admitting that the city is becoming unlivable to the common man.